Renters Right Act: 10 Reasons Buy To Let Landlords Are Reconsidering (and Turning to Short-Stay Models Instead)
1. When does the Renters Right Act come into force?
Short Answer:
The Renters Right Act will roll out in phases, but landlords are being told to prepare now, as once it fully applies, long-term letting becomes far less flexible and significantly higher risk. A major portion of the act will take effect from the 1st May 2026.
What Does This Mean:
Many landlords are choosing to restructure their strategies before the Act hits, rather than be trapped in more rigid tenancies. Short-stay and serviced accommodation models offer the opposite: flexibility, payments upfront, and near-instant control over occupancy.
2. Will Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions be abolished?
Short Answer:
Yes ‘no fault’ evictions will be abolished, and losing Section 21 drastically reduces a landlord’s ability to regain possession quickly when things go wrong.
What Does This Mean:
Without Section 21, landlords must rely on slower, evidence-heavy possession grounds. If a tenant becomes problematic, stops paying, or simply damages the property, the landlord’s hands are tied until a court rules, which can take many months.
Short-stay renting avoids this entirely, because there’s no assured tenancy and guests have no long-term rights.
3. What grounds can landlords use to regain possession?
Short Answer:
Only specific, tightly controlled reasons and every one of them requires proof, process and time.
What Does This Mean:
Whether you’re selling, moving in a family member, or dealing with serious rent arrears, every route now involves formal procedures and potential disputes.
In contrast, serviced accommodation allows immediate turnover: guests leave on pre-set dates, you choose who stays, and you’re never stuck in the system.
4. Will all tenancies become periodic?
Short Answer:
Yes, all tenancies will switch from an AST to periodic, meaning all tenancies become ‘rolling’ and renew every month. Tenants can leave whenever they like, but landlords cannot.
What Does This Mean:
Periodic tenancies look flexible on the surface, but in reality they remove planning certainty. Tenants can walk away with short notice while landlords remain tied to extensive compliance obligations.
A short-stay setup gives landlords full control over booking length, pricing, and occupancy strategy. At Switch Property Management, we focus on Contractor Stays (B2B), meaning the landlord receives long bookings, paid upfront and with zero rent disputes.
5. How will rent increases work under the Act?
Short Answer:
Rent increases are limited, regulated and challengeable, restricting landlords’ ability to respond to rising costs.
What Does This Mean:
Annual Section 13 increases may not keep up with inflation, mortgages, or legislation driven expenses. Tenants can also dispute increases at tribunal, delaying or overturning them.
Short-stay models allow dynamic pricing based on demand, with all payments maid upfront. No tribunals, no restrictions.
6. Can tenants challenge a rent increase?
Short Answer:
Yes a tenant can challenge a rent increase, and a challenge can freeze income while the dispute is resolved.
What Does This Mean:
If costs rise suddenly (insurance, tax, mortgages), long-term landlords may have no quick way to adjust rent. Serviced accommodation, by contrast, allows price adjustments instantly, without waiting months for formal processes.
7. What new standards and compliance rules will landlords face?
Short Answer:
More inspections, higher repair expectations, stricter safety rules and harsher penalties.
What Does This Mean:
The Decent Homes Standard and future regulations will require more documentation, more upgrades, more checks and more potential fines. Traditional renting continues to grow more complex every year.
Short-stay properties still need to be safe, and rightly so, but the compliance burden is much lighter and far more business-friendly.
8. How will pet rules change?
Short Answer:
Landlords must consider pet requests and may struggle to refuse them.
What Does This Mean:
Pet requests increase wear and tear, voids, insurance costs and damage risk. With deposits capped, landlords have limited protection and little control.
Short-stay models give landlords full discretion: no pets unless you choose to allow them.
9. Will landlords have to join an Ombudsman scheme?
Short Answer:
Yes, every landlord must join an Ombudsman scheme, even accidental or one-property landlords.
What Does This Mean:
This introduces extra cost, scrutiny and the possibility of binding compensation decisions made against landlords.
Short-stay operators do not fall under tenancy Ombudsman schemes, dramatically reducing red tape.
10. How should landlords prepare for the Renters Right Act or should they change strategy entirely?
Short Answer:
Traditional long-term letting is becoming more regulated, slower and risk heavy. Many landlords are shifting into serviced accommodation, contractor stays and short-term rentals for better control and higher yields.
What Does This Mean:
Preparing for the Renters Right Act means updating contracts, retraining, learning new rules, documenting repairs, handling tenant rights expansions and keeping up with ever-tightening legislation.
But many landlords are deciding that the best preparation is to exit altogether. Some are considering selling, however others are moving toward a model where:
There are no Section 21 restrictions (because there is no tenancy).
Compliance is simpler.
Guests can be selected more carefully.
Pricing can adjust instantly.
Paid upfront before the guest stays
Property condition and upkeep is higher.
Property is cleaned on a regular basis with regular maintenance checks.
There are no tribunal disputes over rent (paid upfront)
Occupation control is fully in the landlord’s hands.
For landlords wanting to stay profitable with less risk, short-stay / serviced accommodation is becoming the clear strategic move.
Conclusion: Why More Landlords Are Switching to Short-Stay Models
The Renters Right Act marks a dramatic shift in favour of tenant security and against landlord flexibility. Many landlords feel that traditional renting is no longer commercially viable, predictable or safe, especially with the loss of Section 21.
Short-stay accommodation, contractor stays and serviced accommodation models offer the opposite:
✔ control
✔ flexibility
✔ market-responsive pricing
✔ lower legal risk
✔ better property condition
✔ stronger cash flow potential
As the rules tighten, the landlords who thrive will be the ones who adapt early.
